Redd Pepper
{{Short description|Barbadian-British voice actor (born 1961)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}
{{BLP sources|date=December 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Redd Pepper
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Richardson Green
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|06|23|df=y}}
| birth_place = Barbados
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Voice actor
| years_active = 1996–present
| module =
}}
Richardson Green (born 23 June 1961), known professionally as Redd Pepper, is a Barbadian-British voice actor. With his unusually deep voice and vocal style similar to that of Don LaFontaine, he is known for his work on movie trailers, as well as his time voicing Michael LeRoi in the 1999 video game Shadow Man, and its sequel, Shadow Man: 2econd Coming.
Early life
Pepper was born Richardson Green in Barbados on 23 June 1961,{{Cite web|url=http://www.janetstreetporter.com/db_img/272upload.pdf|title=Sound of the Underground|access-date=2007-08-04|publisher=Deadline|year=2007|author=Dom Joly|author-link=Dom Joly|pages=8 & 9}} and moved to London as a child. He has six sisters and three brothers. He attended Sedgehill School in the Lewisham area of London. His first job was at a McDonald's, after which he spent six months as a firefighter. He then became a train driver on the London Underground. He later claimed to have become bored very easily during this job, and would prank passengers by stopping the train between stations, turning off the lights, and talking over the loudspeakers: "I used to say stuff like: 'This is your driver speaking... or is it?' in a really spooky voice."
Career
In 1996, a television executive was a passenger on a London Underground train being driven by Pepper; upon hearing his voice over the loudspeakers, the man gave Pepper his business card and asked Pepper to call him. This led to numerous jobs providing voiceovers for TV channels and adverts, and he began voicing film trailers soon after, with his first being Space Jam.{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4792011 |title=Meet Redd Pepper, the voice over artist behind some of the biggest movie trailers |date=August 21, 2018 |publisher=CBC Radio |access-date=November 30, 2021}} He also voiced Mike LeRoi/Shadow Man in the video game Shadow Man, and its 2002 sequel, Shadow Man: 2econd Coming.
Pepper came to prominence when he was mistaken for Hollywood voice artist Don LaFontaine following his voice work on the trailers for Armageddon and Independence Day.{{cite news |url=https://www.shadowandact.com/amp/meet-redd-pepper-the-iconic-voiceover-artist-behind-hollywoods-biggest-trailers |title=Meet Redd Pepper, The Iconic Voiceover Artist Behind Hollywood's Biggest Trailers |date=August 6, 2018 |first=Monique |last=Jones |website=Shadow & Act |access-date=November 30, 2021}} He has also appeared onstage as an actor, having acted in an Edinburgh Festival production of Jeffrey Archer's Prison Diaries. On 24 December 2010, he appeared on a celebrity edition of the BBC quiz show Eggheads. When asked if he missed being a train driver, he responded, "I make £3,000 to £4,000 per movie trailer. What do you think?"
In October 2015, Pepper briefly replaced Peter Dickson as the voiceover of British reality show The X Factor. However, he was only present as a voiceover at Judges' Houses, as Dickson returned at the end of the month. In April 2017, he served as announcer during Bradley Walsh's week of hosting The Nightly Show.
Personal life
Filmography
=Film trailers=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
!Title !Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="2"| 1996
| rowspan="10"| UK dub |
| Space Jam |
| rowspan="3"| 1997 |
| Men in Black |
| Boogie Nights |
| 1998 |
| 1999 |
| 2005 |
| rowspan="2"|2007 |
| Mr. Bean's Holiday |
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
!Title !Role !class="unsortable"|Notes |
|---|
| 2004
| Bramph (voice) | English dub |
| 2019
| Plymouth DJ (voice) | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
!Title !Role !class="unsortable"|Notes |
|---|
| 2007
| Deadline | rowspan="5"|Himself | 1 episode |
| 2008
| 1 episode |
| 2010
| |
| 2011
| 1 episode |
| rowspan="2"| 2013
| 1 episode |
| Golden Joystick Awards: The Briefing
| Narrator | |
| 2014
|How to be epic at everything | rowspan="2"|Himself | 1 episode |
| 2014–2015
| Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway | 2 episodes |
| 2015
| Announcer | |
| 2017
| rowspan="2"|Himself | 5 episodes |
| 2017–2019
| 2 episodes |
| 2021
| rowspan="1"|Himself | 1 episode |
| 2021
| rowspan="1"|Harriet Bear | 1 episode |
| 2021
| rowspan="1"|Hamilton | 28 episodes |
| 2022
| Virgin Atlantic TV advert "I Am What I Am" | rowspan="1"|Passenger reading newspaper{{cite web | url=https://www.tvadsongs.uk/virgin-atlantic-advert-music-i-am-what-singer/ | title=Virgin Atlantic Advert, Music & Singer – I Am What I Am – TV Advert Songs }} | 1 advert |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
!Title !Role !class="unsortable"|Ref |
|---|
| 1999
| Mike/Shadow Man | |
| rowspan="3"| 2000
| Imperium Galactica II: Alliances | Additional voices | |
| Blade
| Blade |
| Gothic
| Drax | |
| 2001
| Mike/Shadow Man | |
| 2002
| Vietcong | Additional voices | |
| rowspan="2"| 2004
| Additional voices | |
| Vietcong: Purple Haze
| Additional voices | |
| 2017
| Additional voices | |
| 2023
| Sarevok Anchev |{{cite video game |title=Baldur's Gate 3|developer=Larian Studios|date=August 3, 2023|scene=Credits}} |
| 2025
|Blood West - Dead man's promise DLC |The Shaman | |
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20071113082958/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/793623 Artist profile] from the British Film Institute
- {{IMDb name|1005611}}
- [http://www.harveyvoices.co.uk/profile/view/redd_pepper Artist profile] from Harvey Voices
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pepper, Redd}}
Category:20th-century English male actors
Category:21st-century English male actors
Category:Actors from the London Borough of Lewisham
Category:Barbadian emigrants to England
Category:Black British male actors
Category:English male film actors
Category:English male radio actors
Category:English male stage actors
Category:English male television actors
Category:English male video game actors
Category:English male voice actors